Still settling into the offseason here at the new
temporary offices - 2350 N. Casaloma Drive; Suite #102 - and I don't have any
single topic to write about this week, but there are a lot of little bits of
information that are Timber Rattlers-centric. So, here are a lucky seven.

1.) Tom Henry is a pretty good sport. The
Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana fulfilled his part of the wager with Dave
Schowalter, the Chairman of the town of Grand Chute, by wearing a Timber
Rattlers jersey for a day. Henry and Schowalter had a friendly bet riding
on the result of the Midwest League Championship Series. The picture up
top show Mayor Henry wearing the Rattlers jersey.

2.) Another order of 2012 Midwest League
Championship T-Shirts have arrived at the team store. They are available in
grayand
red. I was told that the actual color is cardinal, but I am not
going to call it that because of THAT team. You
can order the T-Shirts online or right here at the new offices.

3.) People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll
tell you what I do. With apologies to Rogers Hornsby, I do not stare out
the window and and wait for spring. One of my responsibilities is to go
out and speak to civic clubs and organizations as part of the Timber Rattlers
Speakers Bureau. There are already three dates booked for the offseason.
If your group would like to schedule me to come out and talk with you about
Timber Rattlers baseball, email me at rattlerradio@timberrattlers.com
and I'll be there. You can have the talk with or without powerpoint.

4.) Fang's Reading Club is up and running for the
offseason. If you are interested in joining, contact Dayna at (920)
733-4152. Here is the page for Fang's
Reading Club at the team website. There is a sample timeline,
details for reading coordinators, and how you can get Fang T. Rattler to visit
your school as part of the program. It was a huge season for the Reading
Club last year. Looking for a bigger year this time.

5.) Baseball America has already listed
their Top 20 Prospects of 2012 for the Arizona
League and the Pioneer
League. Clint Coulter of the Maryvale Brewers in the Arizona
League is the only Milwaukee farmhand to make a Top 20 list. Last Friday,
I noted a few Helena Brewers who were up for consideration for the Pioneer
League list over at Rattler Radio. The Top 20 for
the Midwest League is going live on Tuesday morning. Keep in mind that the
MWL is a 16 team league and there were only four Rattlers - Drew Gagnon, Yadiel
Rivera, Nick Ramirez, and David Goforth - who were in BA's list of Top 30
Brewers prospects before the start of the season. They champs may
have only one or two on their Midwest League list tomorrow.

6.) Congratulations to Adam Jones and Chris Tillman! The pair of former
Timber Rattlers have helped the Baltimore Orioles reach the postseason
for the first time since 1997. Baltimore - a Fox Cities Foxes
affiliate from 1960-1965 - is tied with the Yankees for the lead in the AL East
division. There are three games remaining. Jones, who
was named the MVP of the Orioles for the second consecutive year,
has played in all of Baltimore's 159 games so far this season. He hit 32
homers, drove in 81 runs, and scored 103 while putting together a slash line of
.288/.337/.509. Tillman put everything together for the Orioles after
getting called up a couple of months ago. Tillman went 9-2 with a 2.78ERA
in 14 starts. He pitched eight innings and allowed one hit against the Red
Sox at Fenway Park on
September 28 in maybe his best performance at the major league level.
I'll have a look at all of the former Rattlers in the playoffs on the blog later
this week.

7.) The Timber Rattlers are up for a 2012 Golden
Bobblehead at the Minor
League Baseball Promo Seminar in Reno this week. First of
all...RENO!?...and I'm not going?!...probably for the best I guess.
Second, the Rattlers are competing with five other teams for Best Theme
Night. The nominees are:

Frederick Keys: Six Months to the End of the World
Kane County Cougars: Princess/Daddy-Daughter Date Night
Missoula Osprey: Float to the Ballpark
Northwest Arkansas Naturals: What Might Have Been Night
Bowie Baysox: Pi(e) Night (April Promo of the Month¥)West Virginia Power: Redneck Night (May Promo of the Month)Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Salute to Cows (June Promo of the Month)

The only only one I am concerned about is the Six
Months to the End of the World Frederick Keys. Not because it might beat
Salute to Cows. I'm concerned because if that is true, we have less than three
months left before the end of the world!